Mass-flowering red clover crops have positive effects on bumblebee richness and diversity after bloom

Effects of pre and post-bloom applications of ethephon on flowering of strawberries

Quantitative Historical Change in Bumblebee (Bombus spp.) Assemblages of Red Clover Fields

BACKGROUND Flower visiting insects provide a vitally important pollination service for many crops and wild plants. Recent decline of pollinating insects due to anthropogenic modification of habitats and climate, in particular from 1950's onwards, is a major and widespread concern. However, few studies document the extent of declines in species diversity, and no studies have previously quantifie...

Temporally dependent pollinator competition and facilitation with mass flowering crops affects yield in co-blooming crops

One of the greatest challenges in sustainable agricultural production is managing ecosystem services, such as pollination, in ways that maximize crop yields. Most efforts to increase services by wild pollinators focus on management of natural habitats surrounding farms or non-crop habitats within farms. However, mass flowering crops create resource pulses that may be important determinants of p...

Contrasting effects of mass-flowering crops on bee pollination of hedge plants at different spatial and temporal scales.

Landscape-wide mass-flowering of oilseed rape (canola Brassica napus) can considerably affect wild bee communities and pollination success of wild plants. We aimed to assess the impact of oilseed rape on the pollination of wild plants and bee abundance during and after oilseed-rape bloom, including effects on crop-noncrop spillover at landscape and adjacent-field scales. We focused on two shrub...

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

Brief Background: Red clover is a legume, which like soy contains "phytoestrogens" (plant-based compounds structurally similar to estradiol, capable of binding to estrogen receptors as an agonist or antagonist). Red clover was traditionally used to treat asthma, pertussis, cancer, and gout. In modern times, isoflavone extracts of red clover are most often used to treat menopausal symptoms, as a...